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MESSAGE  OF  THE  PRESIDENT 


VKTOING  THE 


MEDICAL    BILL 


To  thi  House  of  Representatives 

of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  : 

I  regret  to  find  myself  compelled  to  return  without  my  signilure 
an  act,  which  originated  in  your  body,  entitled  "An  Act  tore-organ- 
ize and  promote  the  efficiency  of  the  Medical  Department  of  the  Pro- 
visional army."  I  entirely  concur  in  the  desire  to  accomplish  the 
objects  contemplated  in  the  act,  and  have  delayed  its  return  in  the 
hope  that  some  additional  legislation  might  obviate  the  difficulties  that 
would  embarrass  the  operation  of  the  act  in  its  present  form. 

The  act  seems  to  be  based  on  the  assumption  that  there  exists  i^ 
"  medical  department  of  the  provisional  army,"  and  this  fact  is  not 
only  set  forth  in  the  title,  but  some  of  the  provisions  are  so  worded 
as  to  be  inoperative,  by  reason  of  this  assumption. 

Thus,  the  first  section  provides,  *'  that  the  rank,  pay  and  alloAvances 
of  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  "  provisional  army  of  the  Confederate 
States  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby  conferred  on  the  Surgeon  General 
of  the  same.^^  There  exists  no  such  officer,  as  the  Surgeon  General 
of  the  provisional  army.  The  plain  intent,  therefore,  of  Congress  to 
confer  the  rank,  of  Brigadier  General,  in  the  provisional  army  on  the 
Surgeon  General  of  the  permanent  army  would  be  defeated,  unless  the 
language  of  this  section  be  changed. 

According  to  the  provisions  of  the  law,  as  it  now  stands,  there- is  a 
medical  department  organized  for  the  permanent  army,  under  the  Act 
of  the  26th  of  February,  l«61,  entitled,  "An  Act  for  the  establish- 
ment and  organization  of  a  general  staff  for  the  army  of  the  Confed- 
erate States  of  America,"  the  chief  of  which  is  styled  the  Surgeon 


Greneral.  Tlie  only  legislation  proviilinj];  for  medical  officers,  for  pro- 
visional troops,  is  the  Oth  section  of  the  Act  of  6th  March,  1861, 
which  enacts  that  when  volunteers  or  militia  are  called  into  the  ser- 
vice of  the  Confederate  States  in  such  numbers  that  the  "  officers  of 
the  medical  department  which  may  he  authorized  by  law  for  the  regu- 
lar service,  are  not  sufficient  for  *  *  *  *  furnishing  them  with 
the  rc(|uisite  medical  nttendar.ce,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  the  I'resident 
to  appoint,  with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  Congress,  as  many  ad- 
ditional oflicers  of  the  said  department,  as  the  service  may  require, 
not  exceeding  *  *  •  *  *  one  Surgeon,  and  and  one  Assistant  Sur- 
geon, for  each  regiment;  *  *  *  to  continue  in  service  only  so 
long  as  their  services  may  be  rocjuired,  in  connection  with  the  militia 
or  volunteers." 

There  is  an  act  of  I4ih  August,  18G1.  on  the  same  subject,- but  it 
confines  the  appointments  authorized  by  it  to  such  surgeons  and  assis- 
tant surgeons  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  various  hospitals. 

The  third  and  fourth  sections  of  the  act  now  returned  to  you, 
permit  and  require  the  assignment  of  a  number  of  surgeons  and  assis- 
tant surgeons  to  military  (Icpartments,  to  divisions,  to  brigades  and 
to  infantry  and  cavalry  regiments,  largely  in  excess  of  the  number 
allowed  by  the  law  just  quoted,  but  no  .authority  is  given  for  the 
appointment  of  the  increased  number  of  medical  officers,  and  it  would 
be  impracticable  to  execute  the  law,  unless  by  adopting  the  inadmis- 
sible construction,  that  an  authority  to  assign  officers  to  duty  implies 
an  authority  to  appoint  new  officers.  Such  a  construction  would  be 
the  less  justifiable  in  the  present  instance,  because  in  the  second 
section  in  which  new  officers  are  authorized,  the  language  of  the  act 
directs  (ippointmcnts  to  be  made,  but  in  the  third  and  fourth  sections 
the  language  is  changed,  and  nssignmenis  only  are  permitted. 

There  is  another  omission  in  the  act  which  raa.y  give  rise  to  preten- 
sions, prejudicial  to  the  service.  In  declaring  the  rank  to  which  the 
several  medical  officers  shall  be  entitled  in  the  provisional  army,  in- 
cluding those  of  Brigadier-General,  Colonels  and  Lieutenant-Col- 
onels, no  express  exclusion  is  made  of  their  right  to  command  troops, 
as  has  wisely  been  done  in  the  law  which  regulates  their  rank  in  the 
regular  or  permanent  army.  The  officers  of  the  medical  corps  have 
long  evinced  the  desire  to  have  some  right  of  command  of  troops  in 
certain  contingencies,  and  this  command  ought  either  to  be  expressly 
forbidden,  or  the  cases  in  which  it  may  be  exercised  ought  to  be  dis- 
tinctly defined. 

The  chief  objection  to  the  bill,  however,  remains  to  be  stated.  The 
fifth  section  is  designed  to  effect  a  most  humane  and  desirable  object, 
but  its  provisions  are  inadequate  to  the  end  proposed.  The  purpose 
of  Conpress  is  evidently  to  provide  some  additional  means  for  the  care 
of  the  sick  and  wounded  of  armies  in  the  field.  At  present,  after 
each  battle,  the"  wounde'd  are  necessarily  left  in  such  temporary 
quarters  as  can  be  procured  in  the  vicinity,  but  on  the  movement  of 
the  army,  most  of  the  medical  officers  attached  to  it  are  compelled  to 
follow,  and  the  wounded  :  re  thus  left  with  medical  aid  and  attendan<;e 
entirely  insufficient  for  their  relief. 


The  fifth  section  of  the  act,  provides  for  an  infirmary  corps  of  fifty 
men  for  each  brigade,  officered  with  one  1st  and  one  2nd  Lieutenant, 
two  sergeants  and  two  corporals,  but  no  provision  whatever,  is  made 
for  any  additional  medical  ofiicers,  nor  does  the  act  provide  for  any 
control  by  medical  ofllcers  over  these  infirmary  corps,  nor  assign  to 
these  corps  any  fixed  duties.  Unless  some  provision  be  made  on  these 
points,  the  present  deficiency  of  surgical  aid  will  continue  to  exist, 
and  the  infirmary  corps  will  necessarily  follow  the  army  to  which  they 
are  attached,  when  it  moves  after  a  battle,  or  if  left  behind  will  be 
subject  to  the  orders  only  of  their  own  officers,  who  are  not  medical 
men,  or  conflicts  will  arise  lictwccn  these  officers  and  the  medical 
officers. 

Entertaining  the  conviction,  therefore,  that  this  act  in  its  present 
form,  while  entailing  heavy  expense,  Avill  fail  in  the  beneficial  effects 
contemplated  by  Congress,  I  deem  it  .ly  duty  to  return  it,  without  my 
approval,  but  with  the  hope  that  some  additional  legislation  may  be 
devised  to  accomplish  the  purpose  contemplated  by  its  passage. 

^  JEFFERSON  DAVIS. 

Cktobtr  1 3.  1863. 


^  Ti^ 


AN  ACT 

To  reorganize  and  promote  the  efficiency   of  the   Medical  Department 
of  the  Provisional  Army. 

Section  I.  The  Congress  of  the  Confederate  States  of  America  do  enact. 
That  the  rank,  pay  and  allowances  of  a  Brigadier  General  in  the  pro- 
visional army  of  the  Confederate  States,  be,  and  the  same  are  hereby 
conferred  on  the  Surgeon  General  of  the  same. 

Sec.  2  Be  it  further  enacted.  That  there  shall  be  appointed  in  the 
provisional  army  of  the  Confederate  States,  two  Assistant  Surgeons 
General,  with  the  rank,  pay  and  allowances  of  Colonels  of  Cavalry; 
one  Medical  Inspector  General  with  the  rank,  pay  and  allowances  of 
Colonel  of  Cavalry,  and  such  number  of  Medical  Inspectors  not  ex- 
ceeding twelve,  as  the  President  shall  deem  expedient,  with  the  rank, 
pay  and  allowances  of  Lieutenant  Colonels  of  Cavalry. 

Sec.  3  Be  it  furtluer  enacted,  That  there  may  be  assigned  to  each 
army  in  the  field,  or  military  department,  one  surgeon  as  medical 
director,  -who,  for  tlie  time  so  occupied,  shall  be  entitled  to  tho  rank 
pay  and  allowances  of  a  lieutenant  colonel  of  cavalry ;  that  there 
may  be  assigned  to  each  division,  one  surgeon,  as  division  surgeon. 
and  to  each  brigade,  one  surgeon,  as  brigade  surgeon,  and  two  assist- 
ant surgeons  for  staff  or  other  duty. 

Sec.  4.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  to  each  regiment  of  cavalry  or 
infantry  there  shall  be  assigned  one  surgeon,  with  the  rank  of  Major, 
and  two  assistant  surgeons  each,  with  the  rank  of  captain. 

Sec  5.  Be  it  furtlier  enac'ed,  That  there  shall  be  enlisted  and  mus- 
tered into  service,  an  in6rmary  corps  of  able  bodied  men,  to  be  com- 
poaed  of  fifty  men  to  each  brigade  of  an  army  in  the  field,  and  said 
infirmary  corps  shall  be  organized  into  companies  of  fifty,  and  officer- 
ed with  one  first  lieutenant  and  one  second  lieutenant,  two  sergeants 
and  two  corporals,  and  paid  in  like  manner  as  commissioned  officers, 
non-commissioned  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  Confederate  service. 

Sec  6.  The  appointment  of  a  mgdical  officer  of  the  regular  army 
to  any  office  created  by  this  act  shall  not  affect  his  rank  in  the  regular 
army.  TPI.  S.  BOCOCK, 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  BeprtseiUatives. 
R.  M.  T.  HUJSTER, 
President  pro  tempore  Senate. 


Hollinger  Corp. 
pH8.5 


